


The One with the Burned Christmas Cookies

by GeckoGirl89



Category: Friends (TV)
Genre: Alternate Season/Series 10, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bad Cooking, Baking, Based on a Tumblr Post, Christmas Cookies, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Ficlet, Fluff and Humor, POV Rachel, Supportive Joey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 01:28:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8777638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeckoGirl89/pseuds/GeckoGirl89
Summary: Rachel had attempted to bake Christmas cookies today. Attempted being the key word.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by this post on otp-imagines-cult (http://otp-imagines-cult.tumblr.com): _Imagine your OTP setting the Christmas cookies on fire._ In this fic, they're just kind of burned, not actually on fire.
> 
> This is set in an alternate version of season 10 where Rachel and Joey didn't break up in 10.03 (TOW Ross's Tan).

Rachel took the cookies out of the oven and sighed when she saw that most of them were black rather than golden brown. Her baking endeavors had been doomed to failure.

Rachel had attempted to bake Christmas cookies today.  _Attempted_  being the key word.

The first time, Rachel had accidentally left out an important ingredient. The second batch had stuck to the baking sheet, and Rachel had to scrape them off with a spatula. Rachel thought she had been more careful this time, but apparently she must have left them in the oven too long, because they were burned to a crisp and resembled hunks of coal.  _Ho ho ho, happy holidays to all._

Joey moved next to her and picked up a cookie that was half-burned, eating the portion that wasn’t black. “You know, these are actually pretty good if you eat the parts that aren’t burned.”

Rachel stared at her boyfriend, who was munching on the cookie like it was delicious. He was either a phenomenal actor, or he actually enjoyed her poor cooking. Rachel couldn’t tell which.

“Ugh, I give up. I guess you’re not getting Christmas cookies from me this year. At least none of them were as bad as that trifle I made that one Thanksgiving.” God, Rachel had been so stupid. She had actually thought beef sautéed with peas and onions was a layer in a dessert because the pages from the shepherd’s pie recipe and the trifle recipe had gotten stuck together. In her defense, English people often put weird stuff in their food.

“Hey, that trifle was yummy, and I liked it!” Joey was pointing his index finger in the air, emphatic about Rachel’s trifle disaster. “The jam was good, the custard was good, and the beef was good! I don’t get why other people were acting like it was gross.”

Rachel laughed. Joey could always cheer her up and make her feel better, no matter what. “I guess I’ll leave the cooking to someone else.”

Joey nodded in agreement. “We live across the hall from Monica and Chandler. We’ll go visit them later. I bet she’ll make us some cookies.”

Monica was an excellent cook, and anything she would make would be better than whatever Rachel could produce, even if she got the recipe right. “You’re right.”

Joey grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s go watch some TV. We’re both good at that.”

Rachel smiled, curling up on Joey’s lap in the recliner, and they watched a Christmas special together. She felt so comfortable with Joey. With him, she didn’t have to be good at everything. He loved her, burned cookies and all. She snuggled into his embrace and looked forward to eating Monica’s cookies later.


End file.
